Revelation, 1
November 1831–B [D&C 1]

hear may hear prepare ye prepare ye for that
which is to come for the Lord is nigh & the anger of the Lord is
kindled & his sword is bathed in heaven & it
shall fall upon the inhabitants of the Earth & the arm of the Lord
shall be revealled & the day cometh that they who will not hear the
voice of the Lord neither his servants neither give heed to the words of the Prophets &
Apostles

A title indicating one sent forth to preach; later designated as a specific ecclesiastical and priesthood office. By 1830, JS and Oliver Cowdery were designated as apostles. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church explained that an “apostle is an elder...

shall be cut off from among the People for they have strayed from mine
ordinances

A religious rite. JS taught that ordinances were covenants between man and God, in which believers could affirm faith, gain spiritual knowledge, and seek blessings. Some ordinances were considered requisite for salvation. The manner in which ordinances were...

& have broken mine everlasting Covenant they
seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness but every man walketh in
his own way & after the Image of his own God whose Image is in the
likeness of the world & whose substance is that of an Idol which
waxeth old & shall perish in Babylon even Babylon the great, which
shall fall wherefore I the Lord knowing the calamity which should come
upon the inhabitants of the Earth called upon my Servent
Joseph & spake unto him from heaven & gave him
commandment

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

& also gave commandments to others that they should
proclaim these things unto the world & all this that it might be
fulfilled which was written by the Prophets the weak things of the world
should come forth & break down the mighty & strong ones that
man should not council his
fellow man neither trust in the arm of flesh but that every man might Speak in the name of God
the Lord even the Saveiour of the world that faith also might increase in
the Earth that mine everlasting Covenant might be established that the fullness of my Gospel might be proclaimed
by the weak & the Simple unto the ends of the world & before kings
& Rulers Behold I am God & have spoken it these
commandments are of
me & were given unto my Servents in their weakness after the manner of
their Language that they might come to understanding & in as much as they erred it might be made known
& in as much as they sought wisdom it might be
instructed &
in as much as they sinned they might be chastened that they might
repent & in as much as they
were humble they might be made strong
& blessed from on high & receive knowledge from time to time After
they having received the record of the
Nephites

A term used in the Book of Mormon to refer to the descendants and followers of Nephi, as well as those who later identified themselves as Nephites for religious reasons. According to JS and the Book of Mormon, Lehi and Sariah, Nephi’s parents, and their family...

To produce a new text through a revelatory, rather than scholarly, process, by the “gift and power of God.” In the Book of Mormon, the ancient prophet Mosiah translated records into his own language using “interpreters,” or “two stones which was fastened ...

through the mercy of God by the power of [God] the Book of
Mormon & also those to whom these commandments were given might
have power to lay the foundation of this
Church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

& to bring it forth out of
obscurity & out of darkness the only true & living Church upon the
face of the whole Earth with which I
[p. 126]

hear may hear prepare ye prepare ye for that
which is to come for the Lord is nigh & the anger of the Lord is
kindled & his sword is bathed in heaven & it
shall fall upon the inhabitants of the Earth & the arm of the Lord
shall be revealled & the day cometh that they who will not hear the
voice of the Lord neither his servants neith[er] give heed to the words of the Prophets &
Apostles

A title indicating one sent forth to preach; later designated as a specific ecclesiastical and priesthood office. By 1830, JS and Oliver Cowdery were designated as apostles. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church explained that an “apostle is an elder...

shall be cut off from among the People for they have strayed from mine
ordinances

A religious rite. JS taught that ordinances were covenants between man and God, in which believers could affirm faith, gain spiritual knowledge, and seek blessings. Some ordinances were considered requisite for salvation. The manner in which ordinances were...

& have broken mine everlasting Covenant they
seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness but every man walketh in
his own way & after the Image of his own God whose Image is in the
likeness of the world & whose substance is that of an Idol which
waxeth old & shall perish in Babylon even Babylon the great, which
shall fall wherefore I the Lord knowing the calamity which should come
upon the inhabitants of the Earth called upon my Servents
Joseph & spake unto him from heaven & gave him
commandment

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

& also & gave commandments to others that they should
proclaim these things unto the world & all this that it might be
fulfilled which was written by the Prophets the weak things of the world
should come forth & break down the mighty & strong ones that
men
<man> should not council his
fellow man neither trust in the arm of flesh but that every man might Speak in the name of God
the Lord even the Saveiour of the world that faith also might increase in
the Earth that mine everlasting Covenant might be established that the fullness of my Gospel might be proclaimed
by the weak & the Simple unto the ends of the world & before kings
& Rulers Behold I am God & have spoken it these
arecommandments are of
me & were given unto my Servents in their weakness after the manner of
their Language that they might come to understanding & in as much as they erred it might be made known
& in as much as they sought wisdom it might be
made known instructed &
in as much as they sinned they might be chastened that they might
repent & in as much as they
were humble they might be made strong
& blessed from on high & receive knowledge from time to time After
they having received the record of the
Nephites

A term used in the Book of Mormon to refer to the descendants and followers of Nephi, as well as those who later identified themselves as Nephites for religious reasons. According to JS and the Book of Mormon, Lehi and Sariah, Nephi’s parents, and their family...

To produce a new text through a revelatory, rather than scholarly, process, by the “gift and power of God.” In the Book of Mormon, the ancient prophet Mosiah translated records into his own language using “interpreters,” or “two stones which was fastened ...

through the mercy of God by the power of [God] the Book of
Mormon & also those to whom these commandments were given might
have power to lay the foundation of this
Church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

During the first half of
November 1831,
JS held a series of conference meetings in
Hiram

Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...

, Ohio, at which the
primary business was planning the publication of a compilation of revelations.
This revelation, written as an introduction or preface to the collection,
affirmed an apocalyptic conclusion to human history and declared God’s restored
gospel to be the sole means of deliverance.

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

copied this text into
Revelation Book 1, where it is designated “77 Revelation,” and dated it to
1 November 1831 at
Hiram

Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...

Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...